ARRANGEMENT OF MILLIMETER-WAVE ANTENNAS IN ELECTRONIC DEVICES HAVING A RADIATION ENERGY BLOCKING CASING
A millimeter-wave active antenna array mounting apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises a casing having at least one slit, wherein the casing is made of a radiation energy blocking material; and a millimeter-wave active antenna array configured to radiate millimeter-wave signals, wherein radiating elements of the millimeter-wave active antenna array are disposed corresponding to an opening of the at least one slit, thereby enabling an efficient radiation of the millimeter-wave signals through the casing.
1 . An millimeter-wave active antenna array mounting apparatus, comprising:
a casing having at least one slit, wherein the casing is made of a radiation energy blocking material; and
a millimeter-wave active antenna array configured to radiate millimeter-wave signals, wherein radiating elements of the millimeter-wave active antenna array are disposed corresponding to an opening of the at least one slit, thereby enabling an efficient radiation of the millimeter-wave signals through the casing.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the millimeter-wave active antenna array is mounted on a substrate of a radio frequency (RF) module, wherein the substrate is attached to an inner surface of the casing.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is attached to the inner surface by means of an adhesive material having thermal insulation properties.
4 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the substrate of the RF module further includes a radio frequency (RF) circuitry configured to control and activate the millimeter-wave active antenna array.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the radiation energy blocking material includes at least one of carbon fiber, conductive metal, and conductive metal fiber.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the distance between radiating elements is between a half wavelength and a full wavelength of a millimeter-wave signal.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the width of the slit is up to 1 millimeter.
8 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the radiating elements of the millimeter-wave active antenna array are fabricated on the substrate of the RF module.
9 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the substrate of the RF module is any one of:
a printed circuit board (PCB) and a low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC),
10 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the millimeter-wave active antenna array is an array of phased-array antennas.
11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the RF circuitry is further configured to control the phase per antenna in order to establish a beam-forming operation for the phased-array antenna.
12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the millimeter-wave active antenna array is a triple-band antenna.
13 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is disposed in a lid of a computing device.
14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the computing device is any one of a laptop computer, a notebook computer, and an ultrabook computer.
15 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is disposed in at least one of: a front panel and a back panel of a handled device.
16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the handled device is any one of: a mobile phone, a smart phone, and a tablet computer.